Amid a punishing bout with bad weather, a cargo ship that has been smouldering off the coast of Victoria, BC has been ‘stabilized,’ but lost loads still pose a risk, according to officials..Cargo aboard the Zim Kingston caught fire Saturday morning, and subsequently proceeded to disgorge toxic gas, says the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), who says the blaze initially spread to 10 containers, thus reducing them to a smouldering pile..Two of the torched containers held more than 50,000 kg of potassium amylxanthate, a toxic material..The cause of the fire remains under investigation and an emergency zone of two nautical miles has been put in place around the vessel, according to the CCG, who says the incident poses a risk to mariners, but not residents of Greater Victoria..Prior to the fire, the boat lost roughly 40 shipping containers, kicking off what was to be a very bad weekend..Heavy swells claimed the cargo approximately 38 miles west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the location of several lost containers are being monitored by helicopter. Attempts to determine the lost containers contents have been unsuccessful..A total of 16 crew-members were safely retrieved from the ship, while five voluntarily remained, including the captain..As of publication, crews from Resolve Marine have not yet boarded the ship due to bad conditions, but the CCG confirms the vessel remains stable..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
Amid a punishing bout with bad weather, a cargo ship that has been smouldering off the coast of Victoria, BC has been ‘stabilized,’ but lost loads still pose a risk, according to officials..Cargo aboard the Zim Kingston caught fire Saturday morning, and subsequently proceeded to disgorge toxic gas, says the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), who says the blaze initially spread to 10 containers, thus reducing them to a smouldering pile..Two of the torched containers held more than 50,000 kg of potassium amylxanthate, a toxic material..The cause of the fire remains under investigation and an emergency zone of two nautical miles has been put in place around the vessel, according to the CCG, who says the incident poses a risk to mariners, but not residents of Greater Victoria..Prior to the fire, the boat lost roughly 40 shipping containers, kicking off what was to be a very bad weekend..Heavy swells claimed the cargo approximately 38 miles west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the location of several lost containers are being monitored by helicopter. Attempts to determine the lost containers contents have been unsuccessful..A total of 16 crew-members were safely retrieved from the ship, while five voluntarily remained, including the captain..As of publication, crews from Resolve Marine have not yet boarded the ship due to bad conditions, but the CCG confirms the vessel remains stable..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
